Alison's Husband

pg. 160

"... he could have been
a cardboard cutout posted
at the kitchen door with a
recorded message."

Props and Memory

This post on Boing-Boing reminded me a bit about the prop inventory we are doing.

I was looking at the list of props and imagining what it might look like if all the props mentioned in the book were accumulated and displayed.

The boing-boing post is about scientists studying memory... and suggesting that a memory, when recalled, plays out in one-seventh the time as the original experience.

How long does Gerald's Party last? 7-10 hours? If we were to present the memory of this party, it would last a little over an hour. But how? Is the memory "faster"? Are extraneous details edited out? Would the display of every prop from the book suggest the story they are a part of? What is left of the party when actions NOT related to the props are purged?

Props, pgs. 81, 83, 85 & 87

pg. 81

• no props

pg. 83

• dressing table stool
• two empty glasses, one with ice
• a can opener
• a medicine dropper
• shriveled oysters
• bumpy little marbles

pg. 85

• no props

pg. 87

• Charley Trainer's scotch, flying

Ros's performances

i miss the days when she was my professor, and i had the occassional pleasure of waking up to 8 AM phone calls from Ms. Finley:

re: chalk outlines

chalk outlines

Publish Post>

Props pg. 26, 28, 30, 32, 34

pg. 26
pipe
lamps
apparatus stuck in Ros's mouth (an X-ray unit maybe)
tobacco pouch
hi-fi

pg. 28
knife
yellowed handkerchief
Tanya's spectacles

pg. 30
cop's hat
pistol
wrenches
glass cutters
hammers

pg. 32
fob watch
smashed film gear
tripod
Gerald's expansion-band watch
Alison's compicated green leather watch
roast beef sandwich

pg. 34
tweezers
filter paper
a pick glass
roast beef sandwich
sketchbook

In response to "The Party"

makes me think of a trusty old soap opera!!

General Hospital
Bacchanalia Ball
1998

Props, pgs. 77 & 79

pg. 77

• soft linen slacks
• a rust-colored open collared wrap-tie shirt
• socks

pg. 79

• Sally Ann's blue jeans
• needle and thread
• two whiskey glasses on the dressing table
• the half-eaten sandwich
• open jar of petroleum jelly
• the dressing table mirror
• a blood-stained sheet with a small brown hole burned by a cigarette
• coins
• crumbs
• a wet spot
• someone's false eyelashes

The Party (1968)

Directed by Blake Edwards
Starring Peter Sellers
This is the last couple of minutes of the film. Dig that party music...

Naomi makes a mess of the bathroom.

Props, pgs. 71, 73 & 75

pg. 71

• baby oil
• one of Mark's drawings, "It was a picture of a castle with a war going on, blood and flags flying, bodies scattered like jacks."

pg. 73

• Howard's scout knife

pg. 75

• Eileen's empty glass
• Gerald's electric razor
• a washcloth

Props, pgs. 61, 63, 65, 67 & 69!

pg. 61

• Gerald's wife's manicure set

pg. 63

• Tania's dirndl

pg. 65

• watches (on Lloyd Draper's arm)
• "Woody had something he was showing to everybody...."

pg. 67

• a gold loop (Alison's earring)

pg. 69

• bathtowel
• Tania's dirndl
• a valentine

The Ice Maiden, pgs. 54-55

click me

Props, pgs. 53, 55, 57 & 59

pg. 53

• Noble's false eyeball
• three or four forks
• some money

pg. 55

• painting of Tania as "The Ice Maiden"

pg. 57

• bare bulb on the landing
• a new patch on Sally Ann's blue jeans that said "SWEET MEAT"
• a cigarette or maybe a joint
• another of Ginger's kerchiefs
• some books with plain green jackets
• a coin? a ring? a button maybe, a brass or silver button

pg. 59

• Mr. Draper's glittering arms held out like a robot's
• Dickie's all-gold wristwatch

the invention of audiences

pg. 53

I'd been speaking of the invention of audiences, theater as a ruse, a game against time. "Yes," she'd said, smiling up at me over the ruffles at her throat, "and that's why the lives of actors, thought frivolous, are essentially tragic, those of the audience, comic.

Lloyd Draper collects everyone's watches

Props, pgs. 47, 49 & 51

pg. 47

• potted plants
• another beer
• two glasses of vermouth
• the dark pudding of avocado
• the empty can

pg. 49

• icecubes underfoot
• a box of candies
• a button of chocolate in the middle of the little bowl of pudding
• Tania's bangles
• Tania's bloodsoaked dress

pg. 51

• that bottle
• dishes
• beer cans
• Charley's glass of scotch
• some knives and skewers
• Alison's fresh glass of vermouth
• Alison's husband's pipe

A Magic Trick

"What I am remembered was an old beggar in Cadiz who did tricks with coins. His last trick always was to stack as many coins on his tongue as people would put there, then swallow them. Or seem to. I made some remark at the time about "pure theater" and the woman I was with said: "I know a trick but it is not so practical". The old fellow climaxed his act by belching loudly and producing a paper note in "change," and the truth about the woman was that she was mistaken." - pg. 35

Props, pg. 37, 39, 41, 43 & 45

pg. 37

• Wormwood
• the bottle of vermouth
• Ros's panties
• a tiny pair of manicure scissors
• a thermometer

pg. 39

• a test tube
• the chafing dish
• miniature sausages
• the pitcher of martinis
• Anatole's tumbler of bourbon and ginger ale

pg. 41

• Howard's martini pitcher
• a couple of ice cubes
• the other cocktail napkins
• Anatole's cigarette stub
• the hot sausage, furry now with dust and lint

pg. 43

• smoked oyster on toast squares
• the bucket of empty bottles
• the two full wineglasses
• a ceramic bowlful (of miniature sausages)
• the avocado dip
• the big fluorescent lamp
• a dozen cans of beer
• dishes and dishes of prepared foods
• tins of sardines
• anchovies
• pimentos
• bags of sliced and copped vegetables
• patés
• dozens of sausages
• wrapped cheeses
• hot bread
• the butcherblock
• stirred dips
• biscuits and crackers
• sliced bread
• Patrick's glass

pg. 45

• the kettle of water